The 2019 Oscar Nominations Have Arrived! Who Was Snubbed and Who Was Loved!?

The 91st Academy Awards (The Oscars) will air on ABC, February 24th. The biggest Oscar contenders this year are Roma and The Favourite who are leading the nominations with 10 a piece.

While the cinematography for Roma is absolutely breathtaking, we found the story dull and the editing slow-paced. Among the ten nominations it earned, Actress Yalitza Aparicio picked up a Best Actress nom, making her the first indigenous actress nominated in that category.

On the other hand, The Favourite is vivacious, witty, and full of the kind of storytelling you dream of. Not to mention it’s based on truth! Queen Anne was in fact rather promiscuous and did exchange saucy letters with Lady Marlborough. Olivia Coleman, Rachel Weisz, and Emma Stone shine in this period piece. They performed with absolute abandon and fully embraced their characters. We. Are. Here. For. Them!

A Star is Born is running and diving into the Oscars with eight nominations, alongside Vice. Vice is a contentious piece and has gained buzz fueled by political controversy. Our staff all personally enjoyed the film. However, A Star is Born has the PPLA office taking sides- with some of our staff enamored with the film while others feel it’s a sad “popcorn” flick! One nomination we all agree on is for Best Song for “Shallow.” In terms of acting, Lady Gaga has some steep competition in the Best Actress category opposite Glenn Close and Olivia Coleman who shined in The Wife and The Favourite respectively.

Black Panther became the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. The film was also nominated for Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song for Kendrick Lamar’s “All the Stars.” While we share in the excitement with our fellow Black Panther fans, we can’t help put feel a tinge of regret that The Academy chose to honor this film which had millions upon millions of dollars at its disposal for creation and marketing, while ignoring the brilliant under dog Crazy Rich Asians. Also, while Black Panther is a wonderful action movie and deserves nominations for stunts, CGI, even cinematography, we aren’t quite sold on it being Best Picture material. Can we take a second look at the original Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson brought to life then? What about Wonder Woman?

The Academy is suppose to nominate films whose emotional portrayals far exceed expectations (films like Selma, 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, or even this year’s BlackKklansman which were all deserving) but we don’t think Black Panther meets the mark. We can’t help but wonder if the nomination comes among mounting pressure for diversity after recent year’s of “Oscars so white” backlash. And again…Crazy Rich Asians…robbed!

The nominated men aren’t a bad mesh of performances but our money is on Rami Malek for his turn as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The race also includes Christian Bale for his turn as former VP Dick Cheney in “Vice,” Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born,” Willem Dafoe as Vincent Van Gogh in “At Eternity’s Gate,” and Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book.” Mortensen was spectacular as well and the Academy loves to keep us on our toes!

The Actresses nominated in a supporting role are the real juggernauts of this year’s award nominees. The nominees include: Amy Adams in “Vice,” Marina de Tavira in “Roma,” Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and both Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite.” Bravo to all involved! We’re thrilled to see Regina King finally receiving the attention she deserves for her stellar performance. This category is really anyone’s call! There’s no bad choice.

In a lesser anticipated category but one of our favorites we’re seriously pulling for Mary Queen of Scots to walk home with an Oscar for Best Costume esign! You can check out the full list of 2019’s Oscar Nominees HERE.

Perhaps the biggest question for Oscar Sunday is still who will host? We’re still looking at you Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler.